J'Adore Dior! Michelle Williams shines in gown by Monroe's favourite designer at the Paris premiere of My Week with Marilyn

She inhabits the part of Marilyn Monroe so completely in the film that many believe Michelle Williams should take the Academy Award for Best Actress next week.

So nuanced is her portrayal of the troubled starlet who passed away in 1962 that she manages to embody both Marilyn's childlike vulnerability and sexual confidence in her delicately wrought performance.

But Monroe was a beguiling physical presence, of course, and the 31-year-old actress also had to learn that wiggle, ape the coquettish laugh and more basically, dress like the screen icon.

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Pretty as a picture: Michelle Williams was a vision at the Paris premiere of My Week with Marilyn tonight in a Christian Dior ballgown, his clothes were beloved by the iconic Monroe

And issue for the wardrobe department on the film, initially, but Williams has also taken Marilyn's style to her own, less heaving bosom.

Particularly popular with both women are the sumptuous gowns of Christian Dior, so it was no surprise at the Paris premiere tonight to see the star in one of the fashion house's creations.

The event was sponsored by Dior, who pay homage to ardent fan Monroe - along with a raft of other Dior acolytes - in their new advert for J'Adore Dior scent.

But Williams, who has plumped for Dior gowns in a spectrum ranging from 60s' mint green to classic white, outdid herself tonight in this stunning pink number.

Fairytale: Michelle was a confection in Dior in the candyfloss pink embroidered creation at Cinema Gaumont Marignan in the french capital

Pretty
as a picture: Michelle Williams was a vision at the Paris premiere of
My Week with Marilyn tonight in a Christian Dior ballgown, his clothes
were beloved by the iconic Monroe

Fairytale in its scope; the colour evokes Marilyn's dress in her famous Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend number, but their is a more delicate feel to the embroidery that is pure Williams.

It flatters her gamine haircut, evoking a retro-feel without pandering to Monroe's overt sexiness.

In fact, it pulls more towards that other great silver screen icon, Audrey Hepburn.

Williams had for her Prince Charming, the director Simon Curtis - who looked pleased as punch to be escorting the vision in blush.

But life isn't always as glamorous for the critically-acclaimed actress.

Sumptuous: The wonderful gown featured a two-tone pink train and delicate bow

Lucky man: Director Simon Curtis got to squire his leading actress for the evening, and was clearly enjoying the task

Michelle recently recalled on shooting a late-October skinny dipping scene for the movie in the Thames.

'It’s supposed to be this pure moment of bliss, so you can’t be a buzz-kill just because your teeth won’t stop chattering and the medic has this awful look on his face because your body temperature won’t stabilize,' she told the L.A. Times.

Living the part: Michelle as Marilyn with Dougray Scott as Arthur Miller

She won't be drawn on whether or not she's prepared a speech for the Oscars, which take place at the Kodak theatre in Hollywood a week on Sunday.

But the actress made a heartfelt speech to her daughter by the late Heath Ledger, Matilda, six , as she picked up her award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy at the Golden Globes.

The single parent told the crowd: 'I consider myself a mother first and an actress second, and so the person I most want to thank is my daughter, my little girl, whose bravery and exuberance is the example that I take with me in my work and in my life.'

Michelle recently revealed she had an unusual method of getting in the shoes of Marilyn for in the film, which also stars Kenneth Branagh and Emma Watson.

She said: 'I would think that I had a little scoop of chocolate ice cream right in the back of my mouth and everything that I breathed in tasted or smelled really, really good.

'[Monroe] figured out that she looked more attractive with her mouth open and to keep that openness I tried to think of that little scoop of ice cream on the back of my tongue.'

And Michelle said previously that she enjoyed a much bigger diet getting into the right shape for the role, adding: 'I wasn't watching what I ate, let's put it that way.'

Oscar favourite: Marilyn never won an Academy Award, but Michelle could get one for playing her